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| This is Mary modeling a side ponytail she did herself and a dress from Honduras. It has nothing to do with this post. |
A few other things we did this past summer, without photo documentation--
- Solar System Trek. We have managed to get in a few more legs of our Solar System trek. We have one more left--to Pluto. I do have pictures, but I'll save them for another post, after we're finished.
- Billy Elliot! A friend called me up offering their front row tickets to Billy Elliot! at the Overture Center. My first instinct was no way, I'll never survive such a late night out feeling how I did. But then I thought better of it. I mean, it wasn't like I was actually going to throw up on anyone. And it seemed to good an offer to pass up. So we called our superstar babysitting team. That is how I came to find myself out of the house and wearing actual clothes (not pajamas) past 6:00 pm. This is also how we came to leave our kids with babysitters until nearly midnight. (We've never left our kids that late with a babysitter. I know, we're fuddy-duddies. Our kids loved it--they stayed up the whole time playing board games!) I loved being downtown at night--I felt like a grown-up. As a bonus, I really enjoyed Billy Elliot. I love live theater, and, while musicals aren't my very favorite genre, with such great music and choreography, it was impossible not to love it.
- Summer School. Our school district offered free, fun enrichment summer school classes this year. Isn't that awesome?! (Okay, so we pay not a little in property taxes, but we definitely reap the benefits of those dollars!) David signed up for a two-week science class. It was all the cool science experiments you do in elementary school (meal worms, lava lamps, Mentos-diet Coke rockets, volcanoes, etc.) all in two weeks. Isn't that great? Getting up every day and going to school and listening to a teacher and following directions were all good practice for David--it helped keep him from getting too out of practice with the school thing.
- Bored Mary. Poor Mary. She was so bored this summer. Her friends were busy and out of town most of the summer. Worse, I failed trying to find the right balance of scheduled, structured activities for her. She had way too few. Watching David go off to summer school didn't help. In a last ditch effort to remedy the situation, I sent her off to a day camp at a wonderful nature center with her friend Abby. Mary hated it. (I think she was traumatized by how much nature was at the nature center.) Then I sent her off to a karate and gymnastics day camp at The Little Gym. She loved it! At least I'd done one thing right as a mom. Too bad it only lasted one day.
- Lands End Warehouse Sale. Did you know Lands End is headquartered just down the road from us in Dodgeville? Every year they do a a huge week-long warehouse clearance event. We decided to check it out one Saturday morning. As expected, it was hit-or-miss. We all went together, and it was TORTURE for the kids, especially David. But we came away with some good finds at good prices. Afterwards, we drove down the road to lovely Mineral Point for breakfast/lunch at the Red Rooster Cafe.
P.S. This week--the first week of school--has me beat. And I'm not the one who has to go to school! (I just make the lunches, provide transportation...and deal with all the emotional fallout.) I hope the kids crash tomorrow--they'll need it. (I need it!)
